Battle Creek (Michigan)

Well known for its breakfast cereal industry (Kelloggs and Post both started here) and the Battle Creek Sanitarium which was a high-end health spa started by W.K. Kellogg that was very popular with well-to-dos of the time. The city was prosperous for much of the twentieth century, but like many small Midwestern cities, manufacturing jobs have declined in number and wages have stagnated recently. Kellogg Cereal, which supported the now-closed Cereal City attraction, has been especially hard-hit.
The city is located next to Fort Custer, a large National Guard base. Part of the old Fort Custer army base is now a State Park.

Visitor Information

• Calhoun County Visitors Bureau

  address: 34 W Jackson St

By car

Battle Creek is located between Chicago and Detroit on Interstate 94.

By bus

Greyhound stops at the Intermodal station downtown.

By train

• Battle Creek Transportation CenterAmtrak has several trains per day to Chicago (all westbound trains), Ann Arbor/Detroit (eastbound Wolverine Service), and Lansing/Port Huron (eastbound Blue Water Service).

By plane

• Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International AirportOffers flights with Delta and United.

• W. K. Kellogg AirportA General aviation airport.

Battle Creek is the home of the Kellogg Company and Post Foods (division of Kraft Foods), famous for cereal and breakfast foods. The factories are located on the east side of town, but no tours are offered.

• Hart-Doyle-Inoye Federal Center

  address: 74 North Washington Ave
  The former Battle Creek Sanitarium building and its twin-towers dominate the city skyline. The building itself has a fascinating history, but current security guidelines mean that non-employees cannot enter the facilities.

• Sojurner Truth monumentSojurner Truth, famous for her work in both women's wrights and African American freedoms was from Battle Creek and a large statue of her likeness can be see coming into town from the expressway, surrounded with various information placards.

• First United Methodist Church of Battle CreekOne of Martin Luther King, Jr's last speeches was given here. A plaque commemorates the altar from which the speech was given.

• Binder Park Zoo

  phone: +1 269 979-1351
  address: 7400 Division Drive

• Kellogg Community CollegeHas a permanent art collection distributed throughout the campus.

• Leila Arboretum

• Kingman Museum

  phone: +1 269-965-5117
  address: 175 Limit St
  A natural history museum. Has a advanced planetarium.

• Firekeepers Casino

  phone: +1 877-352-8777
  with many slots and tables games, restaurants, bars, and stage which attract many high-profile performers.

• Fort Custer State ParkPart of the old Fort Custer army facility, centered on Eagle Lake. The State Park offers camping, swimming, and boating.

• W.K. Kellogg Auditorium

Events

• • • 
      

• Lakeview Square Mall

  address: 5775 Beckley Road
  Small shopping mall with the typical store names in and around it.

• Festival Square MarketHosts a farmers market

The usual chain-type family restaurants are clustered near I-94 on the southern edge of town.

• Clara's

  phone: +1 269 963-0966
  address: 44 McCamly Street South
  a great local restaurant

• Arcadia brewery

  address: Michigan Avenue

motels are mostly located near the Interstate highway.

• Holiday Inn Battle Creek

  phone: +1 269 979-0500
  address: 12812 Harper Village Drive

• Mccamly Plaza Hotel

  phone: +1 269 963-7050
  address: 50 Capital Avenue Southwest
  several hundred rooms of above-average quality.

• Kalamazoo
• Gull Lake is a half-hour NW of the city.
• Marshall is a pretty little town east of Battle Creek, the Dark Horse Brewery there has excellent micro-brew beer in a casual atmosphere. Marshall also has many fine Victorian houses and a pedestrian-friendly downtown.